Colorful Lives, Light Spring Dana Emmings

Dana has always had a deep fascination with the workings of the human body and for helping others. After working in an emergency room and as a medic on an ambulance, Dana realized that she wanted to do more than treat the results of bad health; she wanted to prevent it. Believing in the body’s power to heal itself, she searched for a medical system and philosophy that was rooted in that same belief.

That’s when she found Ayurveda. Modern medicine frequently treats symptoms. While it helps in one area, it often causes problems in another. Ayurveda offers us another option. By finding the root cause of disease and illness, Ayurveda can heal from the inside out.

Originating in Indian culture, the ancient practice of Ayurveda restores you to a complete, balanced state of being. It heals through natural means that not only alleviate symptoms, but actually rejuvenates vulnerable and weakened areas in the body. By finding your personalized balance, Ayurveda brings you back to wholeness through the right diet, herbs, exercise and other lifestyle changes for your body.  Her goal is to help others achieve balanced healing in order to live with greater ease and transition into aging with grace and renewed possibilities.

The essence of personal color harmony is also BALANCE.  I utilize the art and science of master artists and scientists who sought harmony by noticing patterns in nature and the world around us.  We all fit into this incredibly complex and yet simple natural world. The philosophies of Ayurveda align perfectly with my approach to helping my clients enhance what they are naturally. Dana exemplifies balance and harmony and FREEDOM.    

What prompted you to have a color analysis? I met Kerry at a Women’s Networking Event, and I was so intrigued by the idea of a Color Analysis. I had never given much thought to how colors could enhance or diminish one’s look, but it made so much sense! I knew I needed to have my colors done!

How has it changed your life?  My color analysis has helped me refine my wardrobe. I absolutely love style and fashion. I derive so much satisfaction when things are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and so my clothing assortment is important. On the flip side of things, I find shopping completely overwhelming because there are so many choices. Now that I have a color palette that works best for me, it narrows my choices down. I may fall in love with a piece because of the stitching or the design, but if it’s not in my palette, it’s an easy ‘no’. This has saved me $1,000’s!

Indigo Tones played a role in helping me embrace my own light. As a Light Spring, honestly, I felt ‘scared’ to wear my new color palette. I told myself stories that I couldn’t pull it off, and that I would ‘stand out.’ I loved the comfort of black because it allowed me to hide and to blend. I remember when Kerry reminded me that black is the color of oppression and death! She is so right. I think of all the oppressed women in the world forced to cover all but their eyes in a sea of black. I realized, through the negative stories I was hearing in my head about myself, that I needed to be a little more courageous when it came to being seen in the world.

Marke` of Formless Photography helped me create the images here. He too, has helped me find courage in letting my light shine.

What has been the biggest challenge? The biggest challenge I have found is weeding out the black from my wardrobe. When I first had my analysis done, I went home and filled 2 large garbage bags with all the black! I didn’t have the guts to let those bags go right away so I moved them to the attic. Black was ‘safe’ for me. Overtime, I began to trust my new color wheel because I received such positive feedback.  

Any interesting things happen while you were wearing your colors? It is always uplifting when I hear a random compliment from a stranger saying they love that color on me or tell me I look amazing. It feels like they are seeing me and not just the clothes I’m wearing!

What was the biggest surprise? I didn’t know I could pull some of these colors off. I grew up hearing my mom say she couldn’t wear purple, so I never did either! I never tried it until it was part of my color palette. Hmmm, I wonder what my mom’s color palette is? That would be a great Mother’s Day gift!

Tell me about your favorite color in your palette. I love pink! And my kids know it – every time my 7-year-old sees ANYTHING pink, he wants to buy it for me! I now have 2 pink unicorn stuffed animals, a pink coffee mug, a pink scarf and 2 pink mala beads that he has gifted me with over the years – love that boy! He asks me why I like pink so much – honestly, it just makes me smile!

Tell me about your closet. I love many styles and many era’s – I love my flowy clothes – long skirts, flowing scarves, palazzo pants and bare feet, but also love stilettos, pencil skirts and a great looking blazer. Other days, I love mini-skirts, leggings, sweaters and my Doc Marten boots. I also have a couple of those 1950 office dresses with the ¾ length sleeves. My closet is diverse, and I love to dress how I’m feeling in the moment! 

How has it changed your approach to your business?

Embracing Truth – Free to Be We are Spiritual Beings having a physical experience. This is the Truth that I, and many others, have come to know and live. As I have made the adjustment to live each moment from this place, I feel an immediate kinship with each person I meet; a Oneness, if you will; as if suddenly the expression,“we’re all in this together” has become so much more real to me. From this place of Truth, it feels in natural alignment to want to ease another’s suffering, lessen thedark and increase the Light from whence we came. And it is from this place that my work has come forth.

Sacred Life Ayurveda – Free to Live Over the last 15 years, I have witnessed some incredible patterns in our human nature. My ayurveda practice, Sacred Life Ayurveda has evolved to support these patterns. The first pattern that holds true time and time again did not surprise me - the body, if given the appropriate tools of diet, lifestyle, exercise and herbs can heal itself, and not just that, it wants to heal itself! The body works hard for us 24/7/365 to achieve a balanced state. Ayurveda guides us to right living and returns us to who we were born to be. It is the most honest medicine I have encountered.

Ayurveda believes the physical body can live 100 years of age free from dis-ease. It was created to help us live a long time, and spiritual attainment is behind this goal. The Reishis (also known as the See-ers) knew 5,000 years ago that spiritual attainment takes time, and it is said, that if one lives according to their constitution or body type, one can reach this level of realization. If we go back to the understanding that we are Spiritual Beings having a physical experience, we can understand more fully the importance of this goal.

AyurLove – Free to Love Another pattern that has emerged for me through Ayurveda is noticing how certain body types compliment other body types. When we look at the 5 elements that everything in the Universe consists of – Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth – we can understand the 3 body types of Ayurveda much clearer. When these elements are combined, the 3 different body types are created.

Ether and Air create Vata; Fire and Water form to create Pitta; and Earth and Water merge to form Kapha. If we understand our body type, we can find a partner that will compliment our own body type by seeking out an individual that has elements that are different from our own.

For instance, a person with a fiery nature can be soothed by the calm effect of an earthy and/or watery type. This observation gave birth to a new business – AyurLove. AyurLove means Life Love. It is a fusion of ancient wisdom and matching that provides a solution to the modern dating dilemma. AyurLove helps individuals determine their own unique constitution and aligns them with people of opposing body types that offer a more complimentary relationship to each other.

My first love is Ayurveda. It checks all the boxes for me. After working as a medic on an ambulance and in the emergency department, I continued to see the same faces, and I realized people were not truly healing. I wanted to practice a medicine that not only allowed the body to heal naturally but also recognized the deep spiritual component that must be cultivated within to promote deeper healing. 

We believe, in Ayurveda, that the heart is the seat of consciousness. As I offer this new understanding to individuals, it gives them permission to recognize there is something much bigger happening in this healing experience. My work offers me an opportunity to study humanity through the lens of Ayurveda, and this has beenvery rewarding. The third pattern I’ve observed as I help individuals align to balance, is that they are in fact living longer. My oldest client is now 94. When she first came to see me, she was on 5 different pharmaceuticals. She now only needs herbs to support her throughout the change in seasons. This is truly rewarding work.

Sacred Wealth & Prosperity – Free to Thrive The 4th pattern to emerge for me through this Ayurveda journey, is that people are outliving their money. This is a great concern and stress for people. To address this concern, I have recently joined an amazing financial team at Vision Financial Group. The goal I have here is to ensure a proper financial plan for people that will provide support long after they retire. The senior advisors I work with at Vision Financial share in my goals and support me as I address the dis-ease that we often carry around money. In this holistic financial practice, we approach money in a very similar way as I do health.Ensuring there is a ‘free flow’ in the body, mind and spirit when we spend money, save money andthink about money aligns us to new possibilities in abundance and prosperity. This, in turn, allows us to become the masters of our own wealth and greatly reduces stress in our lives. I appreciate having found this fiduciary firm that aligns with my belief that everything in life is Sacred, including money.

Indigo Tones – Free to Shine I want to conclude with a huge thank you to Kerry. I know she followed her own vision in the creation of Indigo Tones. I understand the trials when it comes to bringing new understanding to a concept that many people have never considered before. I absolutely revel when I hear someone exclaim, ‘I just had my colors done.’ Or when I have a random compliment from a complete stranger saying I look brilliant in that color. Thank you, Kerry, for highlighting the importance of letting my own light shine through the Light Spring color palette. With my color analysis, I can show up in the world with confidence knowing what I wear makes me look my absolute best. It has simplified my wardrobe and makes shopping all the easier. I only go for my colors – why waste time on something that doesn’t best reflect the Light from within?

Dana is a professional Ayurveda practitioner certified by the National Ayurveda Medical Association. She has been in practice since 2009. You can find her professional status on the NAMA website.